


Habitual Nature

by Jenniwrites



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood and Injury, Fire, M/M, Major Character Injury, NSFW, Sharing a Bed, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 08:30:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14468832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenniwrites/pseuds/Jenniwrites
Summary: Lance ends up spending the night in Keith's room after Keith is injured rescuing a child from a fire. One night turns into many and they find their relationship evolving into something they did not expect.Though, mostly, canonverse compliant, both Keith and Lance are over 18 in this story.Also many thanks to my beta, @my1alias for all their help making this a tropey smut fic I can be proud of. Ha.





	Habitual Nature

**Habitual Nature**

 

**[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/jenni_sherwoods_pics/41049562624/in/dateposted-public/) **

 

“I think we might have to cut your shirt off,” Lance said as he attempted to gingerly pull Keith’s blood-soaked shirt off his injured body.

“You  _ think  _ we might?” Keith groaned, irritation in his voice from both Lance’s passiveness and the pain that ripped through his body, “Just do it already.”

Lance huffed. He was just trying to help. Keith did not need to be saucy, he thought. 

It took Lance a few moments to locate a pair of scissors. He wondered when Coran was going to make his way down from the deck to help him get Keith into a healing pod as he rummaged through the Castle infirmary drawers. 

Though Lance did his best to remove Keith’s shirt carefully, Keith winced and squeezed his eyes tight as Lance peeled the shirt from him. 

Lance did the same at the sight of Keith’s mangled right shoulder blade jutting out of his back. He was surprised there wasn’t more blood. 

“We need to get you into a pod, stat.” Lance declared. 

Lance pulled out the same healing suit from the pod he used after saving Coran during the Castle’s attack on Arus, many moons ago. He wondered what his injuries had looked like. He could not remember, and thanks to the pod, he didn’t even have a scar. 

Lance turned to see Keith fumbling to undo his belt buckle with one hand. 

“Let me help,” Lance sighed as he stepped in front of Keith to unbuckle the satchel-laden belt Keith favoured. 

It took him a moment to determine the mechanics of the auto lock buckle from his angle. When the belt released, they both let go of the breaths they were holding. Their eyes moved from the belt buckle to each other at the same time, causing them to bump noses. They could feel the other’s breath on their skin and flushed slightly at how close they were. 

Lance stepped back and slipped his thumbs in the waistband of Keith’s pants. 

“You ready?” Lance asked. 

Keith nodded. 

If Keith wasn’t in so much pain, he might have been embarrassed as he let Lance undress him and fit him into the suit, but he was too grateful for the help to be overly self-conscious. 

Lance hadn’t been conscious when Keith and Coran did the same for him however many months ago. He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse. 

Lance had Keith almost dressed when Coran entered the infirmary. The boys had stalled at how they were going to get Keith’s broken arm into the suit. 

Keith welcomed the extra set of hands and the shot of whatever it was that Coran offered him that made his body feel like it was melting, instead of throbbing, and settle his nerves. 

He was barely aware when he stepped into the healing pod and fell asleep being cradled by the viscous blue healing fluid of the pod. 

He dreamt of Lance, but it was like Lance was in fragments. The dream would zoom in and Keith could only see the arch of his brow, his long fingers, just his knee, or the cow lick on his crown. Keith desperately wished he could step back to get a complete picture. He reached out to touch him. But like a ghost, Lance slipped through Keith’s fingers, leaving him with a sense of longing that intrigued him. 

 

28 varga later, the pod opened. 

Keith saw that the team were waiting for him for him in the infirmary. 

Lance and Hunk were directly outside the pod, keeping watch like a pair of sentries, while the others were scattered about the room. Coran, Allura and Shiro were looking at a star map discussing business and Matt and Pidge were hovered around a laptop at benches to the side of the room. 

Keith’s first steps were shaky, like his legs were foreign to him. They threatened to give out on him a few steps from the pod. 

Lance caught him in his arms as he stumbled forward. 

Keith reddened at his weakness, the memory of his dream, and the memory of Lance undressing him. 

“Sorry, I feel a little weak in the knees,” Keith explained. 

“I tend to have that effect on people,” Lance grinned as he and Hunk led Keith to the benches where the others had taken seats. 

“He said, ‘his knees’, not his stomach, Lance,” Pidge teased. 

Lance curled his lip in mock disdain and everyone chuckled. 

“I am glad you’re alright, but what were you thinking?” Shiro launched immediately into lecture mode before Keith had even taken his seat.

“I wasn’t going to let someone burn to death. The firefighters were going to do nothing!” Keith justified. 

“Because they deemed it unsafe to do anything! You weren’t even in uniform! You are lucky that both of you weren’t killed when you fell from the building!”

Keith hung his head to avoid Shiro’s stern gaze. 

The team sat quietly as they silently recalled the day prior’s events.

 

*

 

It was supposed to be a rare day off. 

Coran took them to a nearby planet to shop for some new clothes, and made plans for them to spend the night at a resort and spa he favoured. The following few days, the ship would be full of delegates from nearby planets to discuss the role of the Coalition in Lotor’s new Empire, and he wanted everyone to look and be at their best. 

Lance, Hunk, and Keith hit the town together. Lance had just paid for some new duds when they heard the piercing scream of sirens. 

Keith looked up from his bench seat outside the store where he was waiting and ran down the road towards them. Reluctantly, Lance and Hunk ran after him.

They came upon a small 4 storey apartment building in flames. 

A little girl, the human equivalent of 7 or 8, had found a small dog-like lizard creature and thought she would hide it in her bedroom from her mother’s eye. 

Unbeknownst to her, the creature was a wild fire-breathing doggon, smuggled from a nearby planet, that had escaped its capturers. Once in the girl’s company, it had set fire to her room in protest of being jammed into a small doll stroller. 

The apartment building had lit up quickly. 

The fire fighters had hoped they had gotten everyone out before the building became too engulfed for them to enter, but alas, they heard the girl’s screams once the call was made to let the building burn. 

“You’re not going to go in there?” Keith yelled at the Fire Chief who tried to hold Keith back as he fought back his tears. 

“It would be against protocol. There is no use. If I send my men in there, it is too likely more lives will be lost,” the chief explained. 

Keith scanned the façade of the building and noticed the neighboring building’s rickety fire escape was near enough to the child’s window to grab her if she was willing to jump.

“Then don’t go in!” Keith yelled as he ran towards it. 

“Keith!” Lance yelled as Keith ran towards the burning building. He watched in fear and awe as Keith managed to parkour his way to the little girl’s balcony. 

Keith called out the child.

“Hey, You! I heard you crying,” he yelled into the cloud of smoke. “If you can hear me, crawl down low and make your way to the balcony. I’m a Paladin of Voltron and I want to help.”

Keith felt relief when he saw movement within the the smoke and a small child emerged from the darkness. He held out his arms to the girl. 

“I am going to help you get down, but you have to trust me, ok?” He said. “Do you think you can jump into my arms? I promise I’ll catch you.”

The little girl put one foot forward but pulled it back in hesitation.

“Let me help you.”

A blast of flames erupted behind the girl and she jumped.

Keith caught the girl in his arms but unfortunately, before Keith could get himself and the girl to safety, he felt an odd jolt and the shoddily built fire escape balcony he stood upon began to give way. Keith wrapped his arms around the girl to protect her from the fall and braced for impact. 

He heard a sickening crack and the wind was knocked out of him as he landed upon the uneven pavement.

Everything around him felt quiet and still and he was only vaguely aware of the organized chaos around him. It took him a moment to catch his breath and ensure he could still feel his fingers and toes before he released the girl from his protective grasp.

The girl ran into the outstretched arms of the fire chief. She had some burns from the fire and a cough from the fumes, but she survived the fall without a scratch. Her burns would need tending, but everyone was confident she would make a full recovery. 

Keith was grateful and hoped the same could be said for him. 

He was sure his right shoulder blade was smashed and a rib or two were cracked. His arm hung at an odd angle and he had a laceration on the back of his head. Pain tore through his body, but he felt oddly detached from it. 

As the crowd grew around him, he slowly sat up. Blood soaked the back of his favourite black t-shirt. He shivered slightly from the shock and the dampness. 

“I should have bought another shirt,” he groaned as Lance helped him up. 

“I am calling you an ambulance,” the fire chief interrupted. 

“No, no hospitals!” Keith declared. Truth be told, Keith was afraid of hospitals, let alone one on a foreign planet. He would not go if he could avoid it. 

The fire chief looked at him in horror.

“But?”

“We have everything we need to patch me up back on the castle,” Keith grunted. 

“Do we?” Lance wondered out-loud, worried about his friend. He was enjoying having Keith back in the castle and wasn’t ready to entertain the idea of something happening to him.

“Just take me home,” Keith groaned. 

 

 

Keith stood shirtless in front of the small mirror in his room and fingered the scar on his shoulder from his BOM Trials. He wondered why he chose not to get into the pod back then. As far as he could tell, there wasn’t a scratch on him from the previous day’s fall, and it really wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be in the tube. 

Keith supposed at the time he figured the team could not afford for him to be out of commission. He needed to be able to get to his lion at a moment’s notice. Being in the healing pod would delay important missions, so he suffered through. 

At this point in time, he wasn’t sure if he had a lion. Currently, there were more pilots than lions. Shiro had stepped aside for reasons both of them were still trying to process. Shiro was not feeling himself and Keith had returned to the helm of Voltron. However, like before, it felt weird knowing Shiro should be in that seat instead of him. 

Tap, Tap, Tap. 

Keith heard a knock on his door and turned towards it. 

“Come in,” he said.

Lance entered holding a red and grey baseball tee and a pillow. 

“Here, I brought you a shirt,” Lance said as he tossed the shirt to Keith, “since yours is, well, you know. You can wear it until we can get you a new one.” 

Keith’s caught the t-shirt and set it on the vanity.

“What’s with the pillow?” Keith asked.

“We ran out of rooms for the delegates, so I offered up my room. I’ll probably bunk with Hunk.”

“Oh, I see.” Keith smiled weakly, hoping Lance would ask if he could stay with him, wondering if and how he could ask Lance to stay himself. 

Lance lingered. 

“How are you feeling?” Lance asked. 

“Fine. Good. A little stiff,” Keith confessed as he reached behind his head to give his neck a rub. 

Lance’s eyes drank up Keith’s thin but well toned frame. 

“Oh ya, I bet. I remember feeling stiff after getting out of the pod myself. You need a massage after being in one of those. Too bad we missed out on the spa. I was looking forward to a booking an appointment with a masseuse with 4 arms.”

Lance waved his arms like one of those dancing balloon men you see at car dealerships. 

“I’m sorry you missed out,” Keith sighed. He felt bad that Lance spent his day off looking after him instead of being at the spa. 

“Ah, that’s ok. I am sure there will be other chances for a spa day. Coran has all the connections,” Lance assured him.

Keith brightened. 

“To tell the truth, I never had a massage before,” he confessed. 

“What!” Lance exclaimed, “Oh man, Bud, you don’t know what you are missing. My brother used to let two of his friends give massages to tourists under our pergola outside the Pizza Shack he owned. I traded Marco’s pizza rolls for massages all the time. I am not sure what those ladies liked more, the pizza rolls, or giving young Lancey-Lance a rub down.” 

Lance flexed while wiggling his eyebrows.

“Heh, those must have been some good pizza rolls.” Keith grinned. 

Lance stuck out his tongue in reply. 

“Sit down,” he directed and motioned to the beige swiveling stool at Keith’s vanity and stepped towards him. 

“What? Why?” Keith asked, as he did what he was told to do.

“You can’t live your life never having had a massage.”

“Uhhh,” Keith stuttered. 

Lance swiveled Keith towards the vanity and brushed aside Keith’s hair to reveal his lightly freckled neck. 

Before Keith could protest, Lance kneaded his thumbs into the base of Keith’s neck. 

Keith stiffened but then relaxed. 

If this was happening, he might as well try to enjoy it, he thought to himself.

Lance was pleased when he felt Keith melt beneath his touch. He hadn’t been sure if Keith was going to let him touch him or not. 

So far so good. 

Lance ran his hands down the length of Keith’s back and back up again, and Keith propped his elbows against the vanity. 

Lance was amazed how the healing pod had left no trace of Keith’s injuries from the fall and was curious about why the scars from his BOM injuries remained. He wasn’t sure he would ever understand the mechanics of the healing pods, but he was sure thankful for them. 

As his thumbs worked on the knots he found where Keith’s neck met his shoulders, Keith let his head drop and let out a contented sigh. 

Lance felt a twitch of excitement at the sound. 

When Keith let out another breathy moan, Lance’s palms moistened, and he hardened slightly. 

Shocked at his body’s reaction to Keith’s pleasure, Lance lightened his touch and gave one last grand rub down Keith’s back and stepped back. He took a seat on Keith’s bed and crossed his legs. He hoped Keith wouldn’t notice his excitement. Pajama pants were not very forgiving.

Keith turned towards him. 

“Oh, wow. You’re right. That did feel nice. Thank you, Lance.”

“No problem, Buddy.” Lance replied. 

Keith smiled and swept his long bangs off his forehead. They immediately fell back into place. 

Figuring it was time to leave, Lance reached towards his pillow.

“You don’t have to bother Hunk, you know. You, you could stay here if you want,” Keith offered. 

Lance was surprised at the offer. Keith had always seemed the lone wolf; Lance assumed he would not want the company. 

“I don’t mind sharing. It’s the least I can do, especially considering everything you’ve done for me lately. Or you can just have my room. I can go sleep in the hanger. I really don’t mind.”

“Keith, I am not going to kick you out of your room.”

“Stay, please. Be my guest.” 

Lance nodded. 

As Keith made his way towards the bed, Lance threw his pillow down on the mat.

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor. I don’t bite,” Keith teased as he climbed onto his bed and moved his pillow over closer to the wall. 

“Sure you don’t,” Lance teased back and then regretted it. He was unsure what sort of message he was sending. Was he flirting with Keith? 

Keith got under the covers and turned to face the wall.

Lance crawled in beside him and laid on his back.

“Keith?”

“Yeah.”

“So like, if I wake up with a boner in the morning, you won’t take it personally will you?”

Keith chuckled, “I won’t, if you don’t.”

 

*

 

The delegates stayed three nights. Each night Lance shared Keith’s bed. 

On the fourth night, Lance’s room was free again and at bedtime they went their separate ways.

Keith laid awake in his bed and Lance laid awake in his. They had found comfort in the company of the other over the last few nights and the other’s absence was fully felt, like forgetting ones jacket on a crisp fall walk. 

Keith stared at the ceiling and thought about going to him. What harm would it be to see if Lance was sleeping or not? Keith wondered. If he isn’t sleeping, maybe we can chat? If not, I’ll return to bed. No harm done.

Just as Keith’s feet hit the floor, he heard a tentative knock on his door. When he opened the door, Lance walked past him and climbed into his bed without saying a word. 

Keith smiled fondly and joined him. 

Over the next week or so, sleeping together became a sort of habit. 

They began to sleep closer. 

The first few nights they slept together they woke up side by side, hardly touching. Later, it was not unheard of to wake in the other’s arms or buried against their back.

One night, Lance went to bed a few hours earlier than Keith. 

Keith entered the room quietly, undressed to his boxers, and moved to climb over Lance.

Startled, Lance flinched and raised his knee, making contact with Keith’s junk. 

“Quiznak,” Keith groaned and dropped on top of him.

“Oh, Cheeses! Keith!” Lance pulled him into a tight embrace. “I am so sorry, so so sorry,” he grimaced into Keith’s hair. 

When the pain subsided, Keith squirmed and Lance loosened his grip.

Keith propped himself up above him. 

“I’m so sorry,” Lance repeated.

“It’s ok. I think I’ll live.”

“You startled me.”

“It’s fine.”

“And sorry about hugging you. It was my protective instincts,” Lance apologized for the third time. 

“That’s fine too. If my balls weren’t on fire, I might have liked it,” Keith smirked. 

Keith was still hovering above him and Lance’s concern for Keith’s junk turned into an awareness of its location, and how there was just three layers of material between Keith’s and his.

His body gave his thoughts away and Lance reddened and looked away. 

Now also aware, Keith rolled over and took his place beside him. They laid on their backs, shoulder to shoulder, and stared at the ceiling. It wasn’t until Keith took Lance’s hand in his and squeezed it gently that they were able to relax and fall asleep. 

 

The next morning, Lance lay on his side watching Keith sleep. 

Sleeping Keith looked so relaxed and peaceful compared to Awake Keith. His brows were unknit and he even wore a slight smile. He looked content in a way that he never looked awake. 

Lance brushed Keith’s bangs to the side and ran his hand down Keith’s back without thinking. 

Keith stirred and wrapped his arm around him and buried his head into his chest. 

Lance stroked Keith’s hair and inhaled the scent of his crown. He smelled of a tantalizing mix of the castle soap and Keith’s natural musky sweetness and Lance felt a stirring of his own. 

What the flip are we doing? Lance wondered to himself. Was he attracted to Keith? Was he having feelings for him? No, he lied to himself. It’s just morning wood and I have hardly jerked off in days. Keith is just warm and - 

Keith felt Lance’s body stiffen beneath him. 

He yawned, stretched and shuffled back over to his side of the bed. 

“You ok?” Keith asked. 

“Ya, I’m fine. I just, I just think I should sleep in my own bed tonight,” he sputtered.

Keith looked hurt but tried to hide it. “Why? Did I snore?”

Lance sat up.

“No. It’s not that. You are an excellent bed partner in fact. But, don’t you think this arrangement is a little odd? What if Hunk were to ask me, ‘Lance, are you sleeping with Keith?’ What would I say? I’d have to clarify and if he asked why, I’d have no idea what to say.”

Keith sat silently and hung his head. 

“Why have you been sleeping here? Your room has been free for days now,” he said after a long pause. 

“I, I, I don’t know. I like it, sleeping with you, it’s nice. But we need to stop.”

“Why?” If Lance was paying attention he would have noticed the panic pass through Keith’s eyes. He wasn’t sure why he kept letting Lance into his bed, but now that he was there, he didn’t want him to go. He wasn’t going to let him go.

“If I keep sleeping here, I’m might fall in love with you.” Lance laughed and tried to brush the truth off as a joke. 

Keith, sensing the truth in his jest, felt brazen and hopeful. He hoisted himself up onto his knuckles and hovered over Lance’s lap.

“Would that be so terrible?” Keith asked. 

Lance was stunned. 

“Aaaa, um,” Lance stuttered as Keith went in for a kiss.

Lance closed his eyes as Keith’s lips hit his. 

He let his lips linger for a few moments before pulling away just enough to graze the tip of Lance’s nose with his. He stole one more kiss before sitting back on haunches. 

“Maybe not,” Lance replied. 

His heart was racing hard as he sat up, threaded his fingers through the length of Keith’s hair and pulled him towards him.

After many kisses, Keith’s mouth strayed from Lance’s lips and turned the corner of his chin. He kissed the point below Lance’s ear where his jaw met his neck and flicked his tongue against his earlobe before giving it a tender nibble. 

Lance whimpered and as a shot of pleasure ran through him, he laid back upon the bed, pulling Keith on top of him.

Keith slipped his hand up Lance’s pajama shirt and ran it over the taunt muscles of his abdomen, all the while kissing him with a passion that Lance had never felt with any of the girls he had been with. He responded eagerly. 

He did not protest when Keith dragged his hand down over his ass, down his leg, and back up to his chest again. 

Lance took his turn to kiss Keith’s neck and grunted into his jaw as Keith instinctively shifted his hips to grind his erection against his. 

Lance tilted his hips in return.

They began with a slow tantalizing rhythm until their breath and motions quickened in time. 

Keith sat back and pulled Lance up so that he could remove his pajama shirt.

He threw the blue and gold silk top on the floor and gently pushed Lance back down against the pillows.

Keith bit his lip at the sight of Lance shirtless beneath him. He wondered how much he could get away with. 

He leaned back down to kiss Lance again and then traced his tongue down to Lance’s nipple. Lance groaned and arched as if he dared him to kiss more of him. 

Keith kissed further down and traced his lips over the lump in Lance’s pants.

Lance practically purred and Keith felt his penis twitch beneath his grin.

He pulled on the gold silk drawstring at Lance’s waist and watched in anticipation as the neat bow unravelled. 

He slipped his thumbs into the waist of his pants and looked up at Lance. 

Lance lifted his head at Keith’s pause and looked down at him. Out of all the times he imagined Keith in such a position, he never let himself think it could ever happen for real. 

Keith’s grey violet eyes twinkled with delight. A pink glow spread across his cheeks making him appear sexier than Lance had ever let himself imagine. 

“May I?” Keith asked, licking his lips and giving Lance his best coy grin. 

Lance bit his lip, nodded, and laid back down upon the bed. 

Keith folded over the waist of Lance’s pajamas and gave a careful tug. Lance’s legs seemed impossibly long as he completely removed his pants from them and added them to the pile of clothes on the floor. 

Free from it’s fabric confines, Lance’s erection sprung to its full potential. 

Keith kissed up it from its base, inspecting each vein with his mouth. The head of Lance’s penis was soft and delicate and Keith flicked his tongue over the salty dripping groove at the tip before taking it into his mouth. 

Lance was quiet as though making a nose would break the spell. 

Keith intended to only tease though and did not linger, making Lance whimper as he focused his attention to the grooves near his hip bones instead. He kissed his way back up to Lance’s face.

Lance could taste himself on Keith’s tongue.  His hips rocked on their own motivation. 

Keith inched his black boxer briefs down just enough to free himself.  Lance’s skin felt warm and tantalizing and Keith felt as though he could melt into him. 

His heart racing in his chest, Lance let himself grind against Keith. He inched Keith’s underwear as low as he could reach then used his feet to slip them off the rest of the way.

Keith growled into the hair behind his ear.

After taking some time to linger in the pleasure of their bodies pressed together, Keith once again kissed his way back down Lance’s body and took him into his mouth. He used his tongue to wet Lance and spread the pre-cum that had collected at his tip over his entire member.

Lance began to pant and moan and Keith sensed he was soon going to lose control. 

Keith spit in his hand and stroked himself as he kissed his way back to Lance’s lips.

They locked eyes as Keith wrapped his hand around both their cocks at the same time. 

Lance let out a low drawn out huff. His penis throbbed between Keith’s and his strong and steady palm. As they glided together, he tried to hold on as long as he could. 

Keith smiled as he felt Lance release and pulse against him. 

Lance arched and whimpered and Keith kissed his face as he came.

When Keith let him go, Keith was surprised to feel Lance’s hand take the place of his. He let out a groan as Lance stroked him with just the perfect amount of pressure to bring him to his breaking point. Brow furrowed, he made a breathy guttural sound as he came. 

Lance looked pleased that he was able to return the favour. 

Keith dropped beside him and closed his eyes for a moment before turning to give him one more soft sweet kiss.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Lance said as looked down at the mess on his abs and his now spent member.

“Hmmmm,” Keith moaned in contented agreement. 

Keith opened one of the fold-out shelves above his bed and tossed Lance the burgundy bandana he was wearing the night they rescued Shiro. 

He watched as Lance cleaned himself up. He looked beautiful and flustered and it made Keith feel more warmth for him than he realized he was capable of.

Temporarily cleaned off, Lance settled back down on the bed. 

Keith wrapped his arms around him and laid his head on Lance’s chest. 

“Are you still sure you want to sleep in your own bed tonight,” Keith asked cheekily. 

“Nah. I’m thinking I’ll sleep in this bed as long as you’ll have me.” 


End file.
